


The Sting

by chumimiista



Category: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Genre: Cheating, Headcanon, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Tattoos, blood mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 18:02:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11674293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chumimiista/pseuds/chumimiista
Summary: Joseph doesn't know why he lets Robert talk him into doing crazy spontaneous things. Like getting a tattoo...Or: My headcanon that Joseph and Robert got matching tattoos on one of those crazy Robert dates.Roseph/Robsephcheating, implied sexual content, blood mention, tattoos





	The Sting

**Author's Note:**

> WHOA WHAT THE FUCK IT'S NOT JOJO????????? roseph is my otp from dream daddy and i'm convinced joseph is a super closeted gay with a lot of internalized homophobia :( or some shit like that. anyway, i love him and will defend him to death so no hate cos you'll just get deleted and i'm tired of seeing joseph discourse and shittalk on my feed.
> 
> besides that, this is my headcanon that they both got their tattoos - which match!!! - together at the same time on one of those nights that robert decides they should do something spontaneous. hope y'all like it :D

“Ever think about gettin’ a tattoo?”

The question catches him off guard. Joseph stops redressing himself. “What? No! Why would I do such a thing to the body that God graced me with? It’s… it’s tainting of the skin.”

Robert snorts and sucks on the last bit of his cigarette, smushing the dying embers into the ashtray on his bedside table. He swings his legs over the bed and checks the time. Eight o’clock, still young in the night. He buttons his pants back up and throws on a shirt. “Whaddya say, _friend_?”

“You can’t be serious,” Joseph says. He looks a little scared and that turns Robert on. But, for the sake of his spontaneous plan, he pushes aside the thought of round two.

“Wait here, I’ll be right back.” Joseph looks anxious as he puts his polo back on. He tries to find his sweater but it must’ve fallen off somewhere by the stairs. He gives up after a few moments and sits on the edge of the bed, face flushing as the recent events play over in his head. His guilt doesn’t outweigh his desire for more.

Robert clunks his way back into the bedroom with two shot glasses full of whiskey. “Live a little, it’ll take the edge off.”

Joseph frowns but takes the shot glass. He’s known Robert long enough to gauge when he won’t take no for an answer. With a pro-level swig he downs the whiskey and it burns, but he’s done this before. Just not in a while. Robert chuckles; Joseph knows he’s impressed.

The whiskey gets to him, though. He hasn’t eaten since lunchtime and that was much earlier in the day. His stomach grumbles and he’s surprised Robert has granola bars in his truck when he offers him one. “You’ll need something in you or you’ll pass out,” he says. Joseph’s throat runs dry.

“Wait, are we seriously going to a tattoo parlor? Robert, I told you--!”

“And I told _you_ to live a little. C’mon, you don’t even have to get somethin’ big or fancy. Hell, get a cross for all I care.”

“It’s very unsettling that you used that word in the same breath as the symbol of God. Please don’t mock me, Robert.”

“Can’t help it.”

The rest of the drive is quiet. Joseph nervously picks at his ring finger where it should be, but he takes it off whenever they’re together. His palms are clammy when they pull up to the parlor where a bright neon sign declares that they are open.

“Rob! Good to see ya!” says the only artist still there. He stands up from a seat behind a messy desk and leans in for a bro-hug as they exchange some words.

“I thought you didn’t like to be called Rob,” Joseph mutters. Robert shushes him.

“What can I do for ya? Thought you weren’t much into tattoos, bud.”

“You know me, always livin’ it up and trying new things. Got my friend to come along with me but he’s a chickenshit so it may take some convincing. Show him what ya got.”

“You got it! If you just want something simple for a first timer, we have stars or other shapes, like crosses—you’re the youth pastor fella, aren’t you? Or we hav—“

Joseph isn’t listening anymore. His head is turned to the right where Robert’s gaze follows, and he sees what Joseph has his eyes set on. An anchor, not particularly detailed, but subtly beautiful in its own way. Robert barks a laugh. “That’s definitely you,” he says. “That one. He’s gonna get that one. Where do you want it, Joseph?”

Joseph hesitates. Is he really going to do this…? He looks into Robert’s eyes. God, he looks so excited, and he can still smell the whiskey and smoke on his breath and his dark eyes are so deep that Joseph knows he’s falling into them. He swallows thickly and nods.

“Cool. I’ll get a matching one then.” Joseph’s heart skips a beat.

“A helm,” Joseph says suddenly. Robert raises a brow.

“You want me to get a boat’s steering wheel tattooed on me? C’mon, Joseph, I think there’s cooler boat stuff than that.”

“No, get a helm,” he repeats. “Robert, you’re—“ He pauses, pursing his lips as he looks away. The tattoo artist gets it and shuffles into the back to get his supplies ready. “Robert, you’re my adventure,” he says quietly, eyes cast downward. He’s blushing again and he hates that it happens without Robert even having to do anything. He looks back up and sneaks in a lingering kiss, their lips parted and tongues mingling. It ends too quickly and Joseph’s sure the whiskey’s gotten to his head because he’d never kiss a man out in public like that.

“And I’m your anchor,” he finishes. “I hold you down. Here, home. Please?”

Robert looks unsure but Joseph knows he’s got him caught up in it, too. Robert can’t deny him when he narrows his look and curls his lip like a mischievous kitten. Robert rolls his eyes and mumbles, “Fine,” just as the artist returns to beckon them to his station.

It hurts. _Really_ bad. It’s not the worst pain he’s been in but he wasn’t prepared for the sting. He refrains from looking because when he did the first time he saw bubbles of blood forming as the man outlined the piece and it made him ask forgiveness from the Lord more times in a row than he ever had. Joseph only hopes he doesn’t pass out—but after five, ten minutes, his arm goes numb and the pain dulls to a strangely calming vibration. He relaxes a little and hears Robert laugh. He must’ve noticed his chest slump forward.

“You’re takin’ it like a champ, I’m surprised,” Robert says. Joseph smiles sheepishly and chances another look. It’s not that bad now. The bleeding is only here and there, mostly at the top where it hurts the most. He supposes the shoulder is a sensitive spot for tattoos.

“Thank you for the… compliment, Robert,” Joseph manages to say. “I’ll be ready to take pictures when you start crying like a baby.”

“Ha! You know I whittle and nick myself pretty bad on the regular, right?”

“Right—“ Joseph hisses. “Forgot about—that.”

Oh, boy. This guy is doing a lot of shading. Joseph looks away again. He focuses on Robert’s hands that are folded in front of him. He’s slouching. Always does, except when Joseph climbs into his lap, then he straightens up. Joseph licks his lips and pushes the image out of his mind. He can’t get a boner like this, Robert might think he likes the pain. But the thought sticks with him and he considers it seriously.

He _does_ love when Robert is rough with him in bed. Joseph feels goosebumps and takes another look as the guy colors in his tattoo. Bad idea though, because Joseph sees that he’s using _multiple needles_ now and oh, boy, his stomach is doing flips. He swallows.

Robert notices and pats his thigh. Joseph decides to risk placing his hand on Robert’s, but he’s surprised that Robert doesn’t pull away. He smiles gently. “Thanks. I hope the Lord can forgive me for not engraving his symbol upon my skin first.”

Robert barks out another laugh. The tattoo artist chimes in with his own.

“First, huh? So you wanna get more?” Robert asks.

“…Maybe.”

He winks. Robert always rolls his eyes but this time he does so while smirking.

  
When Robert gets his tattoo he doesn’t even flinch. Mostly, anyway, though he does make funny faces. Joseph finds it adorable. The wrinkles between his eyebrows when Robert scrunches his nose, the twitch of his thin lips at the corner. It looks like he’s frowning deeper than is humanly possible. Joseph snickers.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing.”

Robert grunts. His tattoo takes far less time than Joseph’s did and soon they’re both out the door with sample packets of ointment to use on their freshly induced wounds.

They get back to Robert’s house in less than a half hour. Joseph pauses to glance at his own where all the lights are out. He sighs. “So…”

“So? Thought you were going home.”

Joseph shuffles his feet. He leans close to Robert, flush against his chest as he grazes his teeth along the vein in Robert’s neck. He grins as Robert’s breath hitches. “Do you think it’s true you can’t be intimate for six weeks after getting a tattoo?”

“For Chrissake, just say sex, Joseph,” Robert says, but his neck is craning and he’s humming pleasantly. He fumbles for his key and grabs Joseph’s hand as they rush inside. Their clothes are off before they return to his bed and between the heated kisses and bites and hands everywhere, neither of them care about the sting anymore.


End file.
